French rapper MHD is making some of the most addictive and enjoyable music videos today. In his nine-part Afro Trap series, the 22-year-old Parisian integrates tightly-wound southern hip-hop with the eclectic rhythms of afro-pop, with DIY-feeling videos that jubilantly celebrate diasporic life in the French capital. If you missed them, start with “Afro Trap Part 3,” where MHD recruits a posse in soccer shirts to dance to his earworm “Champions League” hook, and “Afro Trap Part 4,” which celebrates his signature viral dance move le mouv.
After the Afro Trap series started racking up insane YouTube views at the end of 2015, MHD quit his job delivering pizzas, and this summer he played to 65,000 fans in his father’s home country of Guinea. Earlier this month he also performed at Boy Better Know’s festival in London, and this September he’ll make his U.S. debut with a short run of shows. Drake’s a fan, too.
Today we’re premiering the video for the brightly horn-led, percussive jam “Afro Trap Part 9 (Faut les Wet).” In the clip, MHD’s flanked by two incredible kid dancers who take over a fancy fashion boutique, a gas station, and a stretch of the River Seine overlooking the Eiffel Tower. Oh, and all the while MHD’s face is overlaid with Muppets-like CGI effects, giving him a cartoonishly large mouth and eyes.
Over email, MHD explained: “The music video was filmed on August 14 in Paris, in between two of the concert dates for my tour. I actually chose the two kids that feature in the video myself. During my shows, I make the audience get up and dance to the words fais le mouv — these two children impressed us at the time and then we called them back for filming!”
Watch the video above.
